HOA Nut House

Frenchman’s Creek election Friday could bring change in leadership

by Natalie McGill | Staff Writer

During an election with more shouting than ballot counting, Frenchman’s Creek condominium residents decided July 25 they would rather overhaul its current board of directors and start from scratch.

Tired of what they called deplorable living conditions and inattentiveness to complex upkeep, more than 60 residents attended the election, held inside Berwyn Heights Presbyterian Church’s Kidder Hall, intending to vote in a new board of directors. Many came with proxy votes for people who were unable to attend but wanted their voices heard.

Residents have said the five-member Frenchman’s Creek board of directors is not accessible and residents are unable to go to them to get problems in their homes fixed. Calls for service or complaints must go through board president Paul Gbenoba before they are processed. Residents have said calls for service either are not processed, or are processed but insufficient work is done.

The meeting got off to a rocky start when, one by one, residents requested to speak, shouting over Gbenoba, who repeatedly slapped his hand on the table in front of him to try and bring the meeting back to order. Residents continued to list personal grievances with the board such as “bogus liens“ on their accounts which would prevent them from voting in the election.

Following the meeting, Gbenoba said the complex was delinquent “to the tune of $350,000“ and that some residents owe fees as much as $10,000.

“A lot of these people have warfare mentality,“ Gbenoba said. “They have no sense of ownership.“

In the end the vote count was 107 for resident Tom Carrington, 97 for board member Gbenoba, 89 for board member Lord Moses, 88 for resident Lesley Stewart, 81 for resident Glenda Simms, 65 for resident Yetanda Canton and 34 for resident Heather Harding. But as independent auditor Harold Mohn counted votes, residents such as Stewart claimed they saw Gbenoba slip in bogus proxies to increase his vote count, which Gbenoba denied.

Convinced the election was rigged, residents Chuma Mmeje and Canton put attendees on notice that they would impeach the board entirely and scheduled a meeting to vote and remove board members Friday at the New Carrollton Municipal Center. On behalf of the New Carrollton City Council, Councilwoman Katrina Dodro offered the auditorium in the city’s municipal center free of charge to hold the meeting.

“I’m just ready for this nonsense to end,“ Stewart said. “They are neglecting their fiduciary duties as board members.“

Among invited guests to the election were NAACP president June White Dillard, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey and County Councilman Eric Olson (D-Dist. 3) of College Park, who also attended the walking town hall held July 10 through the Frenchman’s Creek condominiums which revealed water damaged storage units, exposed telephone wiring and broken keypad building entries.

“It was an excellent turnout,“ Olson said. “It looks like there’s still things to be worked out. The Frenchman’s Creek community is clearly coming together.“

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net

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